A federal judge is holding a hearing Tuesday to determine if a mentally ill man charged with killing three people and wounding eight others at a Colorado Planned Parenthood clinic in 2015 should be forcibly medicated so he can be put on trial.
Robert Dear’s prosecution in state court and then federal court for the attack on the clinic in Colorado Springs has been stalled because he has been repeatedly found to be mentally incompetent to stand trial after being diagnosed with delusional disorder. He has refused to take antipsychotic medication according to federal prosecutors who are asking U.S. District Judge Robert E. Blackburn to order that Dear be given medication against his will.
In a court filing, prosecutors said they expected Dear’s lawyers to argue that serious medical problems prevent him from being treated with antipsychotic medication. According to prison medical records, Dear has reported that he suffered a heart attack while taking such a drug years ago but prosecutors said they could not find any record to back that up, according to a prosecution filing.
Dear, described by acquaintances at the time of his arrest as a reclusive loner, is being represented by federal public defenders who do not comment to the media on their cases.
During outbursts in court, Dear has declared himself a “warrior of the babies” and said he was guilty. When Blackburn declared that he was incompetent to stand trial in September 2021, Dear objected, shouting “I’m not crazy,” The Denver Post reported.
Dear told police he attacked the clinic because he was upset with Planned Parenthood for “the selling of baby parts,” according to state court documents.